But one category of restaurants focuses on the feast's centerpiece. Barbecue joints – more often associated with brisket or ribs – are keeping their staff and smokers rolling in the lead-up to turkey day.
“It is the busiest day of the year for us,” says Anthony Garcia, the owner and executive chef of Eric’s Family Barbecue in Avondale.
And Garcia is in good company. Several Valley barbecue restaurant owners say Thanksgiving is their biggest day – or very close to it with Father’s Day right on its heels.
While these restaurants are well-equipped for serving crowds with whole cuts of meat sliced to order, this November, their smokers will turn out thousands of pounds of turkey.
“Other than cleaning the smokers, they don’t really get any rest (Thanksgiving) week,” says Addison Taylor of East Valley staple Caldwell County BBQ.
A loaded tray from Caldwell County BBQ in Gilbert. The Texas-style smokehouse has two East Valley locations, in Gilbert and Queen Creek. Both, as well as sister smokehouse Caldwell County Mexi-Q, will offer Thanksgiving meals to serve at home.
Tirion Boan
‘People don’t realize how good our turkey is’
At Texas-inspired barbecue restaurants such as Eric’s, Caldwell County or Phoenix’s venerable Little Miss BBQ, beef reigns supreme, with diners seeking out tender brisket, burnt ends or gargantuan beef ribs.But smoked turkey is a Texas barbecue staple, too, Taylor says. And, Thanksgiving can be the perfect introduction.
“We serve turkey all year round, but often people don’t realize how good our turkey is until they do a Thanksgiving with it,” he says.
Each spot has their own approach to crafting mouth-watering turkey. At Caldwell, turkey breasts are seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic before heading to the smoker, which is fueled largely by mesquite wood. Finished turkeys are rested in melted butter and apple juice.
“It keeps it really moist and gives it a good flavor before we serve it,” Taylor says.
Valley smokehouse NakedQ smokes turkey breasts throughout the year, but prepares whole birds for Thanksgiving, which are brined and rubbed with holiday herbs and spices including sage, thyme and star anise.
Every step of the turkey's preparation at Eric's focuses on keeping the meat juicy and tender.
Sara Crocker
“That’s a special extra kicker,” Garcia says.
A barbecued turkey is the ideal candidate for a restaurant-made holiday feast that will be reheated at home, says Eric’s general manager Josh Bodrie.
“Smoking is preserving the meat,” he says. “When you smoke it, it locks (the moisture) in there.”
And, pitmasters note that such an involved process isn’t for every home cook.
“(Our customers) know how much work goes into cooking a meal like that,” Garcia says. “Let us do that 16-hour workday.”
Valley smokehouses will make hundreds to thousands of pounds more turkey than their average for to-go Thanksgiving meals.
Sara Crocker
‘Meat math’ critical for holiday demand
To ensure all those Thanksgiving birds are ready, barbecue spots lean on pre-orders and predictions based on previous years’ sales.“We do a lot of forecasting. Meat math is a real thing for barbecue,” Taylor says.
Caldwell serves about 100 pounds of turkey on an average weekday. That jumps to about 2,000 pounds for Thanksgiving meals, Taylor says.
For the holiday, Caldwell offers a la carte items and feasts complete with whole turkey breasts, two sides, rolls and pecan pie for $125. The meals serve eight to 10 people and are available for pickup at the Gilbert and Queen Creek locations on Nov. 27. Its sister smokehouse Caldwell County Mexi-Q will offer whole smoked turkey meals with two sides, tortillas and pie for $135. This option serves 10 to 12.
"It's discounted, so it's a good deal for people," managing partner Travis Taylor says.
Caldwell expanded in January, opening a smokehouse in Queen Creek. With the new restaurant up and running, “we’re very equipped to handle the demand this year,” Travis says.
Caldwell County BBQ's homemade smokers, with names like Mr. Big and Little Boy, are fueled by mesquite and pecan wood, imparting flavor and aroma to the meats inside.
Tirion Boan
On Thanksgiving eve, the Avondale smokehouse will offer pickup of holiday specials including turkey breasts ($75), whole briskets ($175), sides ($40) and bourbon-infused pecan pies ($60) made by Garcia’s wife and co-owner Casie Garcia.
Some spots, such as NakedQ, are already sold out. Guests quickly gobbled up reservations for the smokehouse’s whole smoked turkey dinners, briskets and pies, which were announced in October.
Owner Oren Hartman estimates during Thanksgiving week, NakedQ will smoke nearly two tons of turkey. Starting at noon the day before Thanksgiving, the only items hitting NakedQ’s smokers are turkeys and brisket, with pickups starting that day and rolling until noon on Thanksgiving.
“All of our smokers are filled to capacity to make it happen,” Hartman shared via email. “Due to our volume it does not allow us to smoke any other meats and our (barbecue is) closed that day to standard business.”
While the next week will be intense for Valley barbecue restaurants, it's also a “huge compliment” as a restaurateur, Travis says.
“We love when people enjoy our food, and especially if they’re willing to bring it into their homes and their family events,” he says.
After the days of hard work needed to prepare stacks of orders and get them out the door, both Eric’s and Caldwell will close their doors on Thanksgiving day.
“We want Thanksgiving to be a day of gratitude and a day free of stress for as many people as possible," Caldwell’s Addison Taylor says, "our team included."
Caldwell County BBQ
18324 E. Nunneley Road, Gilbert25000 S. 206th St., Queen Creek
